December 15, 2022

H-STEM Complex construction is proceeding on schedule, and the building is taking shape. Over the next month, the winter enclosure will be completed, the temporary roofing will be installed, the concrete floor decks will be poured and the mechanical/electrical trades will be working on the building systems rough-ins. In the renovation areas, the new wall framing has started and will be ongoing for the next month.

The project is still on track to be completed and occupied by early 2024.

As always, please pay attention when walking past the construction site, and thank you for your patience as we bring this exciting project into reality.

The project webcam is a great place to check out the progress. The project webpage is also a good place to look for more information on the project. 

Happy Holidays from all of us in Facilities Management!

The Office of Alumni Engagement is excited to announce a modification to our tradition of welcoming the graduating class into the Tech alumni family.

Previously, Alumni Engagement hosted a post-ceremony commencement reception the Saturday of commencement after the ceremony. This year, the post-ceremony timing has changed to a post-rehearsal new alumni welcome event, immediately following rehearsal tomorrow (Dec. 16). The event will be a way to more personally welcome the newest alumni class into the alumni community, courtesy of the Office of Alumni Engagement.

Our new alumni will be welcomed with treats and an MTU-branded gift, and will be encouraged to sign their Class of 2022 banner. This signed banner will be displayed at future reunions.

We are excited to spend this time with the Class of 2022 as they officially join our close-knit alumni community!

The Student Development Complex (SDC) and Gates Tennis Center will have reduced hours over winter break, starting tomorrow (Dec. 16) through Jan. 8.

In addition, the SDC and Gates Tennis Center will be closed on the following dates in observance of the holidays:

• Friday, Dec. 23, through Sunday, Dec. 25
• Friday, Dec. 30, through Sunday, Jan. 1

For more details, please see our Winter Break Schedule and SDC Facility Schedule.

Thank you,

Michigan Tech Athletics and Recreation

Andrew Fiss (HU) has received a 2023 Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Technical and Scientific Communication Award. He was awarded Best Book in Technical or Scientific Communication honors for his book, "Performing Math: A History of Communication and Anxiety in the American Mathematics Classroom."

Comments from the selection committee included:

• "Compelling, well-researched, and a very interesting read. Though Fiss’s book focuses on the historical instruction of math, his ideas about classroom performance can be translated to other fields."
  
  
• "This book stands out to me because of the topic. While it is historical, it covers a technical topic and anxiety in a way that provides some insight into the resistance seen with technology projects and tools. The takeaways from the book, in my opinion, can be applied broadly to pedagogy, workplace, and any other situation where anxiety exists. It offers some insight into how we may accidentally create anxiety when producing technical communication."

The award will be formally announced at the CCCC Awards Presentation on Feb. 17 during the 2023 CCCC Annual Convention.

The CCCC is a constituent organization of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) that supports and promotes the teaching and study of composition, rhetoric and communication.

With about two weeks until the 2023 Toyota U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championship Presented by Hampton Inn & Suites of Houghton, event registrations, volunteer sign-ups and more are now available.

Join Us in Volunteering for the National Championships on Jan. 2-7
It will take more than 100 volunteers to host the 2023 U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships. Let’s show the national ski community just how supportive our community of skiers is here in the Keweenaw! Please consider volunteering for the event. We have volunteer needs ranging from bib distribution to course control, and even forerunning the National Championship courses. There is a position for everyone, so please consider joining us and cheering on the best skiers in the nation! All volunteers will receive a participant memento.

To volunteer for the 2023 U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships, please fill out our volunteer recruitment form.

Volunteers Also Needed for Pre-Nationals CCSA Invite and CXC Cup 
Michigan Tech will also play host to the Pre-Nationals CCSA Invite and CXC Cup races Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 17 and 18) at the Tech Trails! We are seeking volunteer help for this December race weekend as well. To volunteer for the Pre-Nationals race weekend, please email Volunteer Coordinator Stefany Valentine-Cook at skcook@mtu.edu. Thanks, and GO HUSKIES!

Read about registration requirements for athletes, coaches and suppliers at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

That's a wrap! The blood-pumping digital action of Michigan Tech Esports will return in January. 

Follow the team on Twitter @MTUEsports, and stay on top of the updated schedule posted on our website. Follow us on Twitch, and never miss a game!

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Esports News

• Tech is rated fourth nationwide in NACE Varsity Premier.

• MTU took home second in the Great Lakes Collegiate Rocket League December Minor in a nail-biting 4-3 series with Rochester.

• Huskies Win! Tech's summoners secured the League of Legends conference championship over Northern Kentucky in a convincing 3-0 series.

Read more in the MTU Esports weekly update.

Rudy Luck and Haiying Liu (Chem) are co-authors of a paper published in Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy.

The paper is titled "An effective fluorescent probe for detection of phosgene based on naphthalimide dyes in liquid and gaseous phases."

Cassy Tefft de Muñoz (CEO) was quoted by WLUC TV6 and WJMN Local 3 in stories about the Copper Trail Festival, an event featuring STEM demonstrations held at Michigan Tech on Tuesday (Dec. 13).

About 700 students in grades eight and nine from the western Upper Peninsula participated in the festival, which was organized by MTU’s Center for Educational Outreach and Mind Trekkers program in collaboration with U.P. Michigan Works!, the MiSTEM Network and area businesses.

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The Keweenaw Report previewed Michigan Tech’s upcoming Midyear Commencement, with speeches by Detroit natives Jailynn Johnson ’22 (chemistry) and Board of Trustees Vice-Chair Brenda Ryan ’76 (metallurgical and materials engineering).

The speakers were introduced this week in a Michigan Tech News story.

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Urban Milwaukee and Wisconsin Public Radio mentioned a Michigan Tech study in stories about advice from a panel of scientists that Great Lakes communities prepare for swings in high and low water levels in the face of climate change.

The study, led by Pengfei Xue (CEGE/GLRC), projected Lake Superior to rise 7.5 inches and the Lake Michigan-Huron system to rise 17 inches by 2050 due to climate change.

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Michigan Business Network and the Iron Mountain Daily News mentioned Michigan Tech in stories about projects approved for funding by the Michigan Strategic Fund. 

The stories listed MTU as an advisor on the development of an outdoor recreation and product innovation space situated between Northern Michigan University and the Lake Superior shore in Marquette, Michigan.

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The Willits News in California picked up an interview with Michigan Tech alum Efstathios “Stathi” Pappas ’02 (M.S., industrial archaeology) about the Magical Christmas Train holiday program offered by Mendocino Railway’s Skunk Train.

CEGE Senior Design Colloquium

The Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering (CEGE) is pleased to invite the University community to attend our fall 2022 Senior Design team presentations.

Presentations will run from 8 a.m. to noon tomorrow (Dec. 16) in Dow 641.

Find more CEGE Senior Design Colloquium information — and Zoom links if you'd like to participate virtually — on the CEGE Undergraduate Advising Blog.

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PhD Defense: Jacob Blazejewski, Math

Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences candidate Jacob Blazejewski will defend his doctoral dissertation today (Dec. 15) at 11 a.m. in Fisher 327B. Attendance is also invited virtually via Zoom.

Blazejewski's defense is titled "Novel Approaches to Compute Manifold Operators with the Radial Basis Functions Method."

He is advised by Cécile Piret.

To have your event automatically appear, please submit them to the University Events Calendar.

PhD Defense: Jacob Blazejewski

Thursday, December 15, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 327B

Mathematical Sciences Advisor: Cecile Piret Novel Approaches to Compute Manifold Operators with the Radial Basis Functions Method Attend Virtually:...

CDI x Well-being: Cookies and Coloring Books

Thursday, December 15, 1 p.m.–3 p.m. | Hamar House Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Basement

De-stress with an afternoon of adult coloring and find out more about what resources the Center for Student Mental Health and Well-being has to offer! Come color with us or...

Cookies & Coloring

Thursday, December 15, 1 p.m.–3 p.m. | Center for Diversity and Inclusion (basement)

De-stress with an afternoon of adult coloring and learn more about what the Center for Student Mental Health and Well-being has to offer! We will also have some cookies to...

PhD Defense: Priyanka Dipak Kadav

Thursday, December 15, 1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m.

Chemistry Advisor: Tarun Dam Detection and Mutational Analysis of a Protein Associated with Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Attend Virtually:...

1st Annual White Elephant Gift Exchange

Thursday, December 15, 6 p.m.–8 p.m. | The Bubble Greenhouse

Glad the fall semester is finally over? Ready to celebrate your survival before heading home? Want to enjoy some greenery and a fun tropical holiday tree? Join the Plant &...

Fox Valley 2022 Alumni Holiday Party

Thursday, December 15, 6 p.m. | Appleton Beer Factory - Appleton, WI

Celebrate the season with us! Michigan Tech alumni & friends are invited to a holiday party at Appleton Beer Factory on Thursday, December 15, 2022, from 6-9 p.m. CT. The...

Adult and Youth Huskies Tennis Lessons

December 15, all day | Gates Tennis Center

Youth Tennis Lessons: After school and weekend Youth Huskies Group Tennis Lessons are back this fall! Join by age group and level for some fun on the tennis courts! October 24...